If you want to get rich, focus on your net worth. I don’t mean this if you just want to make and spend more money than most. If you want to make and spend more money than most, focusing on your net worth will get you there, but it’ll take some time. Your net worth is a direct measure of how much of your money you keep, so spending a lot in your younger years will have an immensely detrimental effect. That being said, you want to focus on net worth over the long run if getting rich is your goal. A lot of people focus on making a solid income. This is important if you want to attract women and live a great life. You don’t have a lease on life, is what my grandmother tells me. She’s correct, because you never know what can happen. But when it comes to getting wealthy
What is net worth?
Your net worth is defined as the total value of your assets, subtracted by the total value of your liabilities. It’s a measure of wealth. If you have a higher net worth than most people around you, you’re wealthy. Some people know how to use their wealth optimally, and others don’t. Spending money is an art of its own, independent of getting rich. If you want to learn more about net worth, you can read here.
When you have a high net worth, you are free to work on whatever you want
I don’t have much income, but I don’t have any debt. As such, my net worth is fairly high when you take this blog into account and compare me to my American peers. This allows me to be extremely selective in the work I do, at least for now. I don’t focus on any of the kind of stuff that I don’t want to, and that’s actually allowed me to be remarkably productive and understand the world on a deep level in spite of my low income. This is because I’m not a slave. Not even a temporary one. And don’t read that sentence with Andrew Tate voice. When I talk about not being a slave, I’m simply talking about debt. Debt allows other people to control your life. The government sanctions it. If you’re cash poor, but have a house and no debt, you have a place to live and you can’t be told what to do. This is huge and puts you far ahead of many people who might be living fancier lifestyles than you.
When you have a high net-worth, you have security
If you own multiple medium-sized or large businesses, or are sitting on a bunch of cash, you have security. Unless you’re into drugs or gambling, you’ll always have enough to eat. You shouldn’t be worried about a place to stay either, unless you’re young, and still building your wealth. The main point of building your wealth is that food and rent are always covered. This is why developing the right source of passive income can be more lucrative than buying a house in today’s age. Especially when you factor in the transferrable skills you pick up in the process. High-income employees who live paycheck to paycheck are always one step away from disaster, despite the lavish lifestyles they live. When you’re young, living fast is fun and cool. But as you age, having a high net worth and feeling comfortable and safe is what matters most. This is doubly true if you have children.
Don’t go into debt
Debt is probably the worst thing for anyone to be dealing with. If you’re in debt, you have to work. You have no options, and no freedom. Stay out of debt, even if it means living rough when you’re young. Nobody cares if you have a lot of money when you’re young. When you’re about 25, things change. By then you should have the beginnings of a nest egg. This is all much easier to achieve if you don’t take on debt. Obviously, the wealthier your parents and family are, the more avoidable debt is. But if you’re 18 and thinking about what to do with your life, do the things which allow you to learn the most skills while taking on the least amount of debt possible. 18 to 25 goes quick. There’s no need to be flashy and make yourself feel rich. Sure, women’s financial standards go up at 25, but if you’re 20-22 now, having children at 30 or even later will probably be the norm by the time you’re settled down. Learn skills and avoid debt. You would be surprised how far ahead of your people you’ll find yourself if you can do these two things.
Learn real skills
I said this earlier. If you learn real skills, you’ll be able to get rich over time. This is because you’ll be able to earn more money than most. You’ll be able to save and invest. If you have a good reputation, you’ll also be in demand. This is a form of portable wealth. Your clientele should “boomerang” as a form of passive income, if you do things right. The long-term gains on increasing your skill levels are hard to beat, especially when you evaluate wealth from a global perspective.
Realize that an education takes a long time to have a positive ROI
Your bachelor’s degree does teach you real skills. It’s just that not all of them pay lots of money up front, and about a quarter of them have a negative ROI. In order to win with a bachelor’s degree, you need to wait at least 10 years and choose the right skills. Remember that’s what education is about. Finding out which skills you want to learn.
Invest in (or build a business) as early as possible
If your family is poor, I recommend investing. If your family is rich, I recommend starting a skills-based business. If your business is based on your skills, you’re taking on a lot less risk than it might seem like at first glance. If it’s a marketable skill, you’ll be able to parlay your skill into a job quite easily. This is why I started a blog. I’m building a portfolio for myself as a content writer, while building a passive income machine as a young man. This passive income will sustain me well into my mid 30s. Investing while young is also key. Learn about compounding interest. Starting early will increase your returns dramatically. If you’re 18 and from a poor family, get a job and start investing. By 21, you might have enough to start an online business, buy a house, or even get involved in something that’s “brick and mortar”.
If you have a high enough net worth and it’s invested properly, you can live anywhere
This is the beauty of being either a digital nomad or just having a whole lotta cash. If you’re financially independent and location independent, your options are pretty much limitless. It’s just about investing in assets that give you a high enough annual return to live your life without doing any work. This is very difficult, but it’s becoming more and more possible around the world with each passing day. Building a business usually involves going through a few years of hell. But it’s worthwhile, speaking as someone who is about to reap the rewards soon.
If you’re net worth is locked up somehow, your spending is limited
This has three main side effects. The first is that building wealth absolutely sucks. 99% of people have no discipline, so that means if you set about trying to create wealth, it’s all a game of attrition. You can beat 99% of people by making sacrifices and working hard. I’ve been living at home for 4 years, learning my craft without the help of industry professionals. I’m set to have 90% of people in my country, and of my age group beat within the next 6 months, net worth wise. There’ll still be a lot of work to do, but I’ll be in a great position in comparison to the rest. The second side effect of having limited spending is that you get used to holding onto your money. You learn to be happy with less and appreciate the little things more. This will not only make you feel secure when you do have money, but it will also make you happier in the long run. The third side effect of your spending being capped is that you avoid fake people and gold diggers, at the lower ends of the wealth ladder. You’ll attract modest women, because you’ll have no choice. This is a blessing in disguise. The lawyer with the high starting salary and no partnership contract is liable to lose all his women if he goes broke. Net worth over income. Always.
Focusing on net worth over income is shaping up to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. This is primarily due to how much I’ve learned about the world in the process of becoming an Entrepeneur. I could repeat this process and do it a lot faster now that I know. If I had focused on working a job, I would have gotten into a different lifestyle. One that constantly depended on maintaining appearances and was far less stable. It would have been even worse if I didn’t have parents who could have paid off my student loans. Don’t neglect education and “mainstream” careers, but don’t follow the crowd. The crowd doesn’t care about logic and stability, even the educated populous. Most people are extremely short-term thinkers, and care more about accolades and salaries than anything else. Focus on net worth. It sucks for 3-7 years depending on where you’re located, but after that it’s super worth it. Your stress levels will fall off a cliff, and you’re likely to live a much longer and happier life than you otherwise would have.
Thanks for paying attention.
